Mail-operating device



1,439,927 M. UPPERCU. MAIL OPERATING DEVICE- FILED SEPT. 5. 1919 3 SHEETS'SHEET I INVENTOR Inglis 7'7. Uppercu.

' l. M. UPPERCU.

MAIL OPERATING DEVICE.

FILED SEPT, 5. 1919 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 llllll Q9 INVENTOR tr In lis 1U, Upperczz atented Dec, 25,, 1%22.

INGLIS MOORE UPPEBJOU, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

- aria i Ma n-ornaments. nnvron.

Application filed September 5, 1919. Serial 110.. 321,973.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, INGLIS BIOORIBUP- rEnoU, citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the countysot New York and State of New York haveinvented cer tain newand useful Improvements in Mail- Operating Devices, of which the following is a specification, refereneei. sing had therein to the accompanying drawing.

hii'y invention relates toimprovements in mail. operating devices and fmore particularly has reference to means in combination with an aircraft such as an aeroplane for transferring mail thEI'GfYFOHl'iJO aunoving vehicle such as a marine vessel. i i

The practice of dropping bags of mail upon such vessels is ol'ijectionable and dangerous for severalreasons. Thesesacksare usually heavy containing pounds of mail and are, liable be do damage to both lite and property. even assuming that the aviator successfully landsthe ba but the further difiicultyis encountered in making sure ot' hinding the bag upon the vessel whereas according to my present invention, the bag is not landed upon the vessel directly and there no diiiiculty in getting the bag upon the vessel once it is dropped by the aviator as i prefer. to en'iploy along cable or rope attached tothe bag the free,

end of which is first thrown into. engage ment with the vessel afte" whichthe bag is released andmay their be drawn aboard the vessel without diiiiculty.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated in Fig. 1 in perspective, a suitable aircraftand vessel showing the manner of.

attaching the mail to the vessel. so that the same can be drawn on board. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail partly broken away illustrating the forward portion otthe air-boat with the mail chamber in position thereupon. 3 is a crosssection on the line i 3 of F 2 looking from left to right thereat and Fig. l is a longitudinal section on the line -il looking down upon the mail chamber. Fig. is a diagrammatic view oi the cable or line attached to the mail bag and Fig. 6 is a side view of the bag within which the mail bag may he introduced. T indicates the air-boat and 8 the chamber at the side thereof within which the mail bag and line are carried. This chamber. is open at at 9 and as the top indicated at Fig. 0

indicated at Fig. -.l; at 10 although oi course perhaps 100 y it is understood that any suitable form of chamber or box may be provided if desired or the mail bag and line can be carried inside oi the boat proper. When a separate chamber is einployedfthe front is preferably shaped in such a manneras to reduce air resistance and the chamber is preferably inclined snbstrmtially as shown to insure a ready release on? the bag once the line has taken hold otthe ship.

The line is preferably provided at its outer y "Q Xt unity with a sort of cat 0 9-tail arrangeinc-ht oi weights such as bags 11 which may be filled with shohsand or other material and secured bysuitable ropessuch as 12 to a rimsuch as l3, These tails or'fingers are pre ably made of difi'erent lengths and suitable snap lock or swivell5 upon the end of the line 16 as shown and other weighted meinberssuch as l7 may also be provided above the end of the line as shown. a The. other end of the line may also be looped as indicated at 18--19 and within the'loop maybe secured resilient members such as 20 provided with another swivelor lock connection' such as 23 engaging the ring 24: and 1 that is to say the line may be so connected by another ring 14 to a the line may be divided in sections by other rings such as a5---2(S-2728 between which the shock absorbers EZO QL QQ inclusive may be introduced as shown. These shock absorbers are preterably made of heavy rubber strands the ends of which maybe material as indieate at 29, if desired. This cush ons the shock or drag'of the bag when the bag lands and takes up the slack of the line.

heavy canvas which may be closed at the sides 30 and bottom 31, being open at the top to receive a hermetically sealed bag of mail which is then retained within the bag shown in Fig. (l by suitable tie cords such 323;334 which indicate suitable loops of. rope or cable which may be threaded around the bag shown in Fig. 6 as shown and attached "to the ring 35 at the end oi the line. This outer with the hermetically sealed bag fastened therein is then placed within the chamber 8 upon the air -boat and the coil of rope or line is placed alongside.

The bag illustrated in Fig. 6 is preferably I .made of suitabletough material such Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be observed that when the aviator is sufiiciently close to the vessel upon which the mail is to be landed, be flies preferably across the same siifliciently close to insure attaching the line thereto and at the proper moment releases the outer end of the line containing the weighted fingers 1117 which coming in contact with the rigging, rail or other part of the vessel at the speed at which the aviator'istravel'ing across the same, iIIllTlG-y diately winds itselffastpto the partengaged and *asthe aviator continues, the line draws theibag jof mailout ofthe end ofthe container8'allowing it to drop overboard, the,

linexdra'gging against the side of the vessel as shown'in the lower part of Fig. 1. The line shown in dotted outline in the upper part'of 'saidfigure, illustrates the position at the. moment themail leaves the aircraft. With the-line hanging to the side of the vessel as sh'own'in fulloutline, it is a simple matterifor the bag of mailito be drawn aboardiafter which the line can be released from the rigging orother part of the vessel to ,whichirit has become attached and will be laidaside'for future use.

From .theforegoing, it will'be readily observed that there. is no danger to life or propertyyfrom the weight of a heavy mail bag :IhIOWIl possibly from great height and yetthere is every assurance that the line will be made fast'to the vessel so that the bag canbe easily drawn aboard almost immediately after'it' strikes the water. Furthermore, the loops formed in the line with cushioning means prevents any sudden shock or jar upon either the aircraft or vessel }to which the bag isattached and also as claimed.

1; A device of the class described for effecting a transfer from anaerial vessel to another vessel, comprising a cast-off line carried by the aerialvessel provided at one end with weighted means adapted to become entangled in the other vessel, and'means at the opposite end of the line for attaching the same to the object to beccast 'otfi.

2. A device of the classdescribedtor effecting a transfer from an aerial vessel to anothe-rzvessel, comprising a cast-oil line carried by the aerial vessel proyided at one end with weighted means adapted to become entangled in the other vessel, and means at the opposite enel ot the line for attaching the same to the, objectto be cast ofi, together, withwresilient means lll'thGlllnG adapted to takeup'the pull upon the line atthe moment ofentangle-ment.

Means for effectingautransfer from an aerial vessel to another vessel, comprising a 'cast off line carried-by the'aerialvessel,

vhaving weighted members at one endiadapted' to become entangled in'the other vessel and the object to be castofi attachedto its other end.

4: Means forefi ectinga'transfer from an aerial 'vessel to another-vessel, comprising a cast-ofli line carried by the aerial vessel, one end 'oit-which'isattached to the article to be end of which carries aplurality of'weighted terminals adapted to Wrap about a portion oft-he 'other vessel as they are trailed cast oil" from the aerial vessel and the other a line-provided atone endwith a series of flexible weightedmembers, a IGSlllGIlt'lOOP in said line andfa hermetically sealed bag. at the opposite end thereof. I

6. The method of transferring articles from. one moving vessel to another comprisingproviding a line carriedby one moving vessel having means of entanglement at one end thereofand at the opposite end thereof means for attaching the articles to the-transferredfcarrying said line and articleupon one ofsaidvessels and trailingthe free end of said'line-across the otherkof said vessels thereafter releasing said article from said vessel upon which it wasflcarried.

In testimonywhereof *Ihereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two'witnesses,

INGLIs MOORE UPPERGU. Witnessesf h [ADELINE C. FonRsr, ANNA DUFFY, 

